Illustration Student Snags Packers Art Contest Win

Like most Wisconsin natives, Taylor Oestreich is a die-hard Green Bay Packers fan. Few Wisconsinites, however, can say they’ve turned their Packers pride into a prize-winning piece of art that will be displayed at Lambeau Field throughout the 2017-18 season.

The Green Bay Packers announced last week that Oestreich, who will enter her sophomore year at Concordia University Wisconsin this fall, is the collegiate-level winner of the first annual Packers Student Art Contest. Oestreich’s painting is on display in the stadium’s club levels, and the Green Bay Packers will donate $5,000 to Concordia in honor of her win.

“It’s just a really neat honor,” said Oestreich, of Slinger. “I was born and raised in Wisconsin and my whole family is Packers fans. Being such a huge fan, to win something like this is special.”

The Student Art Contest winners’ works aren’t the only adornments that have been added to the stadium. More than 500 works of art curated by the specialty company Sports & The Arts now hang in the suite and club levels are well.

The collection includes oil and acrylic paintings, textile works, prints, drawings, photographs and more from nearly 20 different artists, as well as photo collections from the Packers, the Green Bay-Press-Gazette and others.

To earn a spot among the prestigious collection, Oestreich had to create a piece to fit the inaugural contest’s theme: “Your Packers Gameday.” Students at the junior high, high school and collegiate levels were invited to participate.

Oestreich’s painting features a close-up of two fans decked out in green and gold, cheering on Wisconsin’s NFL team from the stands. Oestreich said it’s meant to capture the spirit and culture of gameday at Lambeau Field.

Oestreich is pursuing a degree in illustration from Concordia. She credits her freshman-year instructor, Dr. Theresa Kenney, for her significant growth as an artist and for helping her create a piece that would stand out from the rest.

“Dr. Kenney taught me a ton of things that I wouldn’t have been able to do a year ago,” Oestreich said. “It’s been a really great experience at Concordia so far.”